​Paul opens this section with 'Now about the gifts of the Spirit'. It is likely that he is addressing specific questions and concerns raised by the Corinthians. He answers in the context of the Lord's supper and love and his answer forms part of the large section concerning church. The literal Greek translation of the opening phrase is 'now about spirituals', the word 'gift' is a later addition. This makes sense of the opening section as Paul is setting the scene by explaining that all things are either spiritual (ie. acknowledging Jesus is Lord, which at the time could have cost you your life) or not, in which case people could say 'Jesus be cursed'. Paul's emphasis is upon the spiritual world, which believers have access to by the indwelling Spirit of God. He is setting the scene in the midst of a culture surrounded by paganism and with the awareness that many of the Corinthian Christians had previously been pagans and he wanted to encourage them that they were free from that and able to serve the Lord in the power of his Spirit.

We can underestimate the reality of the unseen spiritual world but scripture tells us that it is very real. God entrusted spiritual gifts to the Corinthians, as to us, they made mistakes and this section addresses some of those mistakes and bad practices but Paul doesn't discourage their use - rather he seeks to correct areas of misuse.

General principles regarding spiritual gifts and their use

How concious are we of being led by the Spirit, of hearing the gentle impulses within which are his voice? This is the right use of our introvert temperament, when we feel the truth of God's Spirit in the depth of our introvert. The wrong use of our introvert is when we put ourselves at the centre.

Spiritual gifts need to be used with right motives and not sought as things in themselves. Misuse of spiritual gifts has been present throughout church history - Paul addresses issues here in a way which is appropriate for all times. The expression of spiritual gifts should be used in a way that is culturally appropriate, not shaped by the culture, but sensitive to the people around. The power of God is manifested in a very clear way when spiritual gifts are used - power doesn't necessarily equate with loudness, though there are times when that might happen. The gifts can equally be used in a way which is quietly powerful.

Our challenge

Do we move in the Spirit in our everyday lives, in the little decisions of life? Do we really believe that the Lord will lead and guide us? It is important to value how the Lord leads each one of us as individuals - none of the lists are exhaustive, they are simply descriptions of the different ways that the Lord leads us. Everything that we do for the Lord in his strength is a spiritual gift.​

Chapter 14 - The gift of tongues

The Corinthian church had written to Paul about the use of the gift of tongues as it was a contentious issue within the church, as it has been in many modern movements and churches.

The first reference to the use of tongues in the Bible is recorded in the Old testament in Isaiah 28:11,12. The gift of tongues was first given on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4-13) to enable people to hear the gospel preached in their own languages. There have been modern day accounts where the gift of tongues has been used in a similar way - someone has spoken in a tongue unknown to them and it has enabled someone attending the meeting to hear the message in their own language. Two other occasions in the New Testament where tongues is specifically mentioned is when Peter had a rooftop vision (Acts 10:1-48) about spreading the gospel to the Gentiles. He preached the gospel to Cornelius and he and his household were saved and received the Holy Spirit, resulting in them speaking in tongues and praising God. In Acts 19:1-6 Paul visited Ephesus and came upon a group of believers who had been baptised in the name of John. He told them about Jesus and they were baptised in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues and prophesied.

There are three ways in which the use of tongues is recorded in the Bible -1. Speaking in other, intelligible languages but ones which haven't been learnt by the speaker.2. The gift of tongues for private and personal use to build up the individual believer (1 Corinthians 14:2).3. The gift of tongues for public use within the congregation, which must always be used alongside interpretation so people can understand what is being said.Q. Why does the Lord speak through tongues and interpretation rather than through prophecy, which is instantly understandable?It could be when he needs to grab people's attention and make them sit up and listen.

Q. Should everyone be able to speak in tongues?The implication from verse 5 is that everyone doesn't speak in tongues but Paul expresses the desire that they do. The gifts of the Spirit, including tongues, bring a foretaste of heaven to life on earth and are to be enjoyed and used by God's people to build up and edify one another in the body of Christ, which links back to 1 Corinthians 12:7. When we become Christians we link up with the life of God through his Spirit who brings gifts in a very specific way to build up and edify the body of Christ.

Q. How much do spiritual gifts link with our natural gifts?God takes our natural gifts and develops and uses them. An example of this is Bezalel and Oholiab in Exodus 31:1-11, where he takes Bezalel's natural gifts of craftmanship and filled him with the Spirit of God to build the Arc of the Covenant. Spiritual gifts can be an extension of our natural gifts which God takes and develops and gives specific gifts within. Everyone has a spiritual gift and it's important that we use it rather than judging it less important than others. Every part of the body has its proper place. When Paul tells us to desire the greater gifts that doesn't mean to desire the loudest gifts but rather to desire those gifts which edify and build up other people and the church as a body. The different gifts are like a large jigsaw puzzle - if one piece is missing the whole puzzle is incomplete.

Two examples from the Bible where specific gifts of the Spirit are used -1. Jesus used the gift of knowledge when talking to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:17-18).2. Seven men were chosen with gifts of administration when the task of distributing food to widows became too onerous for the disciples (Acts 6:1-6).